


he repents for what he's done.

by ligaratus



Category: Bastion (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, M/M, Multi, Oneshot, forgive me for not really knowing how the military works, modern au where kid's just like. an average american soldier p much
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-08
Updated: 2019-05-08
Packaged: 2020-02-28 14:36:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 643
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18758428
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ligaratus/pseuds/ligaratus
Summary: He's been gone for a while.(modern au oneshot)





	he repents for what he's done.

**Author's Note:**

> i wrote this back in 2015 and then read it this morning and still thought it was okay so i thought i may as well post

He checks their blogs. He’s no stranger to being left out of the loop.

He logins into the blue interface whenever time allows -- a minute after breakfast in the mess hall, while brushing his teeth before bed, the day of leave spent in Kandahar that tries to pretend like it’s home. He hasn’t answered any of the messages in his askbox for two years, instead desiring to keep the kind words a little more within his reach. One of his superiors asks him for the blog’s URL casually today. Kid finds a letter of blog termination in his email inbox tomorrow.

He can call them sometimes, when the army has double-checked, triple-checked, and cross-examined the phone lines, but usually by the time he gets there, he’s late for one or another function. So, he emails them. The emails get shorter and shorter. They do not ask why. They only respond. Sometimes.

Kid manages to call them one day. Zia cries when she hears his voice over the speaker. He asks how she’s doing. She says she’s alright. She’s lying. He asks how Zulf is doing. She says he’s alright. She’s lying. Kid wonders if she blames him for leaving. He knows he does.

He calls Rucks then. This time, he’s the one crying over the phone. He says nothing about the war. Rucks knows already. Rucks knows everything and Kid doesn’t even need to be on the phone with him, because Rucks knows everything, and Rucks can carry on entire conversations with Kid without any words, just the way Kid likes it, and oh god, I just heard the shooting in the square, I gotta go. I love you. Take care of ‘em for me, ‘cause I can’t be there for ‘em.

He tries to call Zulf again in a few days. His bunkmate got killed. Zulf doesn’t answer.

Zia confesses in one of her emails that she didn’t even know Kid’s blog was down. His heart drops and he doesn’t know why.

He goes to Kabul and tries to take pictures to send back home. They all turn out blurry, so he deletes them, and gets a text from Zulf as he’s doing so. He accidentally deletes the text. He never forgives himself for it. He texts Zulf back but is unable to ask for a resend out of shame. Zulf asks why he didn’t answer the question. Kid can’t answer that question, either.

He wonders if Zulf blames him for leaving. He knows he does.

Kid asks Zulf if he’s okay. Zulf fires back with a more agitated ‘are YOU okay.’ Kid can’t answer the question any more now than he could when he didn’t know the question.

He calls Zia. His new bunkmate got killed. He does not tell her.  
Kid uses his last call to tell Rucks that he can’t call for a while.

 

He sets up a new blog as soon as he is able. Zia promos it, and Zulf belatedly follows it a few days later. His text posts are no longer coherent. Neither are Zulf’s. Neither are Zia’s. He receives a legion of concerned asks and is unable to respond to them with anything but confusion and starvation for normalcy.

He calls Rucks. He got killed yesterday. He does not tell him. He is coming home on the 9 o’clock flight. 

“Welcome home, son,” Rucks says, and Kid feels the first glimmer of pride that he’s felt in months.

He calls Zia when he reaches the airport. It is 7:26 am her time. He tells her that he is coming home. She tells him that he did not come home soon enough.

He sets up hotel accommodations in the Motel 6 in their hometown.

He calls Rucks. Rucks said he’ll tell him the truth once he gets there.

 

He calls Zulf. Zulf does not answer.


End file.
